Dairy key driver for GEA profits in 2024
Credit: GEA
GEA, the technology group, which focuses on mechanical and plant engineering, reported that both order intake and revenue improved in 2024 despite a challenging economic climate. Regarding GEA’s customer industries, the main growth drivers were dairy processing, food and pharma. In geographical terms, the Asia-Pacific and North America regions recorded strong growth; Latin America and the Group’s Western Europe, Middle East and Africa region also performed well.
Revenue increased by 0.9% year on year to €5,422.1 billion (2023: €5,373.5 billion). Organic growth came to 3.7%, resulting primarily from growth in separation & flow technologies, farm technologies and heating & refrigeration technologies.
The firm raised its margin guidance for EBITDA before restructuring expenses twice in 2024 and achieved its 2026 financial targets two years ahead of schedule. EBITDA before restructuring expenses also improved once again, as did the return on capital employed (ROCE). In recognition of their contribution to the success of the business, GEA has granted a special bonus to all employees. Furthermore, GEA shareholders are to benefit with a 15 cent raise in the dividend to €1.15.
According to CEO Stefan Klebert, “2024 was a strong year for GEA. Not only did we grow the business yet again – we also continued to drive our profitability. This goes to show that our innovative strength and clear focus on sustainable technologies are valuable competitive advantages. These achievements showcase the successful transformation of GEA. On behalf of the entire executive board, I would like to thank all our employees for this impressive accomplishment.”
Bucking the general trend in the mechanical and plant engineering industry, the technology group managed to improve all of its key financial indicators. Order intake was up 1.5% on the prior year to €5.5 billion (2023: €5,469.4 million). At 4.6%, organic growth was even greater. Mainly, this was due to higher volumes of large orders (> €15 million) coupled with another strong year for base orders. Overall, GEA won 14 large order contracts worth a total of €437.2 million. Furthermore, the service business expanded in all five divisions. As of the reporting date, the service business accounted for 38.9% of total revenue (2023: 36.1%).
